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Ian and McKenzie tied the knot at No Vacancy last Summer and the day was as sweet as can be! Their recommendation to couples who are engaged and planning their wedding is, “Stay true to who you are. Spend lots of time trying to figure out what YOU want as a couple, not what everyone else wants. Your true friends and family will love you and have fun no matter what you choose.”
Their day was an exact example of their advice! They had a small, intimate ceremony that felt so much like them and mirrored their relationship. No Vacancy offers a unique, colorful, cozy space for weddings and events and it was the perfect setting for Ian and McKenzie’s big day! They said, “It was nice to have both an indoor and outdoor space for people to visit, and many rooms people could escape to. The whole place is decorated with colorful vintage pieces, so it made the wedding feel really unique.”
The wedding party’s attire matched the fun vibe of the venue, which made for some beautiful photographs. The groomsmen wore colorful patterned button ups under their suit jackets that nicely complimented their bridesmaids dresses. Everyone wore their own pop of color and it was so unique! After the ceremony the bride and groom were able to sneak away for a few minutes while the guest attended cocktail hour before dinner, speeches, and dancing the night away! I loved every second of capturing the details of this special day – thank you Ian and McKenzie for allowing me to be a part of your story.
The first thing some couples ask me when booking an engagement session is, “Where should we meet to take pictures?”. I know that question can be overwhelming because you want frame worthy-photos that also capture the essence of your relationship. I’m here to tell you that we don’t have to only meet at a park or outdoor space to capture those moments! One great way to capture moments that truly feel like “you” is to take me along on a date. Kansas City has so many wonderful businesses, restaurants and venues for dates! This couple had some great Kansas City date night ideas.
Bridget and Peter took me to some of their favorite places in KC and I was able to photograph them in such a special way! This session was so unique to them and I loved every second of it. We started out at the first date idea location: River Bluff Brewery. The couple grabbed some brews and sat down to chat while I captured some moments of them together. The brewery is beautiful on the inside with a relaxed/fun vibe and offers some great outdoor spaces to take photographs.
From there we made our way around the River Market, which is another date night favorite of theirs! Bridget said, “We’re always up for spontaneous date nights bopping around the River Market for drinks and a sweet treat.” This location was spacious and offered great lighting and backdrops. It also has a wide variety of shops and restaurants to choose from when it comes to date night!
Our last stop of the day was a perfect date night spot: Betty Rae’s! If you’re an ice cream or sweet treat lover this one’s for you! It was so fun to capture the two picking out their favorite flavors and digging in. Betty Rae’s has such a fun and unique atmosphere, the ice cream is also delicious. Bridget and Peter were so comfortable with each other and I had such a great time capturing some special moments for them. They have been together for 7 years – 4 of which were spent long-distance while they were in college. Their parents have been friends since college, but the military took them in separate directions for a while. Their families all ended up in the same place when Bridget and Peter were in elementary school and that is when they met!
When I asked them what was one thing they were most excited about for future marriage they said, “Building new Christmas traditions together as a family,” and I don’t think there is anything much sweeter than that. Thank you Bridget and Peter for letting me hang out and capture some special moments of this special time in your lives!
One of my favorite things about being a photographer is that I have been given the opportunity to capture the special moments in the lives of people who mean so much to me. This incredible day at Feasts of Fancy was close to my heart. I’ve known Tori since we were in Kindergarten and I was so excited when Kellan popped the question! Her and Kellan’s wedding story isn’t one of tradition, yet it is so incredibly special.
This celebration at Feasts of Fancy took place months after Tori and Kellan’s intimate wedding ceremony. Tori’s mom, Anne, had breast cancer and it was extremely important to Tori for her mom to be at her wedding. So, with the help of their families, Tori and Kellan put their wedding together in 2 short weeks so they could celebrate with Anne. The day was beautiful and so incredibly special.
The day of their large wedding celebration started out with the bridal parties getting ready at their respective houses. After their first look, everyone loaded up on the party bus and headed out for pictures! The beautiful spring day complemented the different shades of blue the wedding party wore and photographed wonderfully. After wedding party pictures, we went to cocktail hour and the party began! I had such a great time capturing all the fun, sweet, and sentimental moments from this special day. Between their grand entrance, the speeches, and dancing the night away this was a day many will remember.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this special day, in more ways than one. I will forever wish you two nothing but the best!
If you want to know the secret to an organized wedding day; I’ll tell you! It’s Veil Events!
I worked with Veil Events on Jordan and Payton’s wedding and it was the best day! It required meticulous organization and coordination due to the use of multiple locations. Lindsay and her team were on top of it and everything flowed so smoothly. Many brides want help in the area of organization. I thought it would be a great idea to ask the Veil Events team to share their secret to an organized wedding day! I contacted the owner of Veil Events, Lindsay Kooser. She had Kaylie, the office manager, sit down and compile some advice for bride’s-to-be.
The Secret to Success
“A wedding planner’s secret to an organized wedding day is simple…Plan, Plan, Plan!! If you’re a Taylor Swift fan you have likely heard what I’m about to say. If you’re not, maybe this will change your mind! Taylor Swift has a lyric, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The strategy sets the scene for the tale.” As cliche as I sound quoting Taylor Swift, she is 100% right, especially when it comes to wedding day!
Importance of Planning
When wedding day finally comes, brides often feel tired of planning and are ready for the day to happen so that the planning is over. They sometimes fail to realize all that planning needs to be done to ensure a seamless and smooth wedding day! If they hadn’t put all that hard work in, they might’ve received endless questions from vendors and the bridal party, missed items, or had things go wrong. As a coordinator, we are not only the fairy godmother of the wedding day to make the bride’s vision come to life. We also help guide the bride in everything needing to be done and give our expertise on decisions to be made.
Creating a Timeline
The most important thing we do is create a timeline to plan out every minute! That may sound scary, but timelines don’t have to be scary and controlling. Making a timeline is actually our best tool for an organized wedding day! We plan out the day from start to finish so that everything has a time and place and nothing gets missed. They make the day go flawlessly, alleviate so much stress, and not only benefit you but benefit your whole bridal party and vendors. We even schedule things you might not think of, like time for the family to arrive so they aren’t late for pictures, bridal party breaks so they can get off their feet, and time for the vendors to eat dinner. The coordinator relies heavily on the timeline to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes.
Take it from Taylor
You may be thinking that all I’ve been doing is telling you to get to work…but, what I’m really telling you is it will all be worth it in the end!! Just like Taylor said, you are setting the scene for the tale and this is your best tale yet to come!”
These tips to success can lead to wedding day bliss, which was definitely the case with Payton and Jordan. Their wedding was such a pleasure to capture. I’m so glad I had to opportunity to work with the Veil Events team! Congratulations to the happy couple! Thank you for allowing me to be apart of your BIG day.
We are back on the “What to Wear” topic and today’s focus is winter engagement sessions! I think people tend to stray away from scheduling sessions in the colder months because they don’t know how cold it will be outside and they think it may be dark and gloomy. I can’t control the weather and there will be some days that are cloudy and overcast, just as any other season of the year. But there are plenty of bright and beautiful days during the winter months that are great for capturing special moments!
My suggestion to couples is to always do what feels like “them” and some people love the cold weather, bundling up, or have an indoor location in mind. I always recommend a neutral color pallet in the winter months – it lends itself well to the bare trees, light blue skies and any indoor location!
I can also get a variety of photos easily if the couple layers up! Layers help highlight the movement in photos and we can mix up the look by adding scarves and a hat halfway through the session.
If we happen to be blessed with snow, it keeps things bright and fun! I recommend wearing shoes that will keep your feet warm in the wet snow or doubling up on socks.
Whatever season of the year, regardless of the weather, I will capture moments that feel like “you” so you can cherish the memories! If you ever have any questions about what to wear we can discuss different options. I’m an open book and want to help my clients get the most out of their sessions!
When planning a proposal you can go as extravagant or simple as you’d like! It’s all about what you prefer as a couple. This moment is the first step in your forever and it should feel like you. Josh knew he wanted to surprise Taylor but wasn’t sure how to go about it. He recruited Taylor’s family for a surprise session outside the Nelson Atkins Museum!
Taylor arrived at the Nelson Atkins to take Christmas card photos with her family. Nothing out of the ordinary there, right? Little did she know, Josh was waiting to get down on one knee and pop the question! HOW CUTE IS THAT?! After Taylor realized the Christmas card session was actually a proposal session she was surprised AGAIN when their family and friends came out to celebrate.
It was such an incredibly sweet moment to capture! I was able to get some photos of the newly engaged couple alone and together with their families before they all headed to dinner to celebrate.
If you are in the beginning stages of proposal planning and aren’t sure where to begin I recommend reaching out to your significant other’s family and friends. Not only are they going to have great suggestions, they may even offer to help with the planning and execution of the proposal!
This session was so fun and I can’t wait to capture more proposals this upcoming season! Thank you Josh and Taylor for allowing me to be a part of your story. Soak up every single second of being engaged!
I recently had the honor of photographing one of my best friend’s older brother’s engagement session at Black Hoof Park. Capturing special moments is my specialty, but absolutely nothing compares to capturing the special moments of someone SPECIAL to me! I’ve known Jesse since we were in elementary school and I’m so excited to see him get married!
Haleigh and Jesse wanted all the cozy Fall colors in their session and Black Hoof Park did not disappoint! It was a beautiful and bright day and the colors of the leaves photographed so well with their neutral colored outfits. They brought their pup Ruby along for the session and we got some very sweet pictures with her!
After getting great photographs with the foliage in the background, we headed over to Lake Lenexa to capture some moments on the boardwalk near the water. The trees near the lake were just as vibrant! These two are so comfortable with each other and I’m so happy I could capture the love and laughter from this day. Haleigh and Jesse are planning to elope in Alaska next Summer and I am SO excited to capture the day for them. Until then, I’ll just be looking back at the moments from this session and patiently waiting in anticipation. Thank you so much Haleigh and Jesse for allowing me to capture these special moments in your story!
Matt and Kaylee celebrated their first pregnancy with a vibrant session at John’s Greenhouse in Brookside, Kansas City! Don’t get me wrong, I love an outdoor session with trees in the background and the skyline above, but the winter months allow me to get creative with sessions and this one turned out SO good! Due to the cold weather, we decided the greenhouse would give Matt and Kaylee the vibrant colors they were looking for and the warmth to keep them comfortable during our session.
Pregnancy is a blast for some and dreadful for others, either way it is a precious time you get to spend with your significant other, just the two of you, in anticipation of the next new phase of life. It is such a bittersweet thing to be able to capture.
Matt and Kaylee were so much fun to work with as we navigated all the different spaces John’s Greenhouse had to offer. They both dressed in neutral colors that photographed beautifully with all the greenery surrounding us. It also looked great with the sonogram’s of their sweet little one! Matt had a surprise undershirt on that was a fun way to specialize their session. The sincerest congratulations as you enter this next phase of life with your little one, Matt and Kaylee. Thank you so much for allowing me to capture these sweet moments for you!
Blake and Gina tied the knot at The Bottle House on a gorgeous fall day surrounded by their loved ones! The Bottle house offered great spaces for the wedding party to relax, get ready, and take pictures before the wedding. The ceremony and reception space was very warm and welcoming with a ceiling lined with beautiful bulb lights.
Gina’s dress was stunning and complimented her bridesmaid’s and flower girl’s dresses perfectly. Blake is a firefighter and the couple included special sentiments to his profession throughout the day. From her garter to their cake topper and all the tiny details in between, it really specialized their big day. One of my favorite moments of the day was Gina and Blake’s first look with Gina’s daughter – it was so incredibly sweet!
The couple shared handwritten vows and then hit the town with their wedding party in a limo to start celebrating. This group was so much fun! When we got back to The Bottle House, the real party began with speeches and dinner and ended on the dance floor! Things really got crazy when the glow stick came out. This group danced the night away! I had so much fun capturing these memories – thank you Blake and Gina!
Wedding Day Details
Paper Goods | Shutterfly
Florist | Turner Flowers
Caterer | Hog Wild Pitt BBQ
Cake Decorator/Baker | Irina’s Gourmet Bakery
DJ/Band | Jason Spencer’s
Hair Stylist | Lisa Balmer
Make-Up Artist | Blush and Mane KC
Bride’s Dress Designer/Store | Bridal Extraordinaire
Bride’s Veil | Bridal Extraordinaire
Rings | Jared’s
Bridesmaid Dress Designer/Store | Azazie
For some, deciding what to wear for a session with me is fun and easy and for others it is a painstaking process. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be! One of the benefits of an engagement session is that there are only two people to dress, so you can mix it up.
Once we’ve decided where our session is going to take place, choose your outfits based on the backdrop we will be working with. Neutrals photography well in almost any setting! If we are going to be surrounded by foliage, I highly recommend earth tones. These colors will compliment your surroundings and enhance your photos. If we are doing a rooftop or downtown location you can venture out with pops of color!
A pro tip I offer my clients is to layer up! Wearing layers is a great way to easily switch up a look without completely having to change outfits. You can also bring accessories along like hats, scarves, gloves, glasses, and jackets to add variety to your photos.
If you have questions about what to wear, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I’m always happy to chat about what would look best and how you can incorporate your own personal style into our session. These are memories you will keep forever, I want you to look and feel your best!
